Stevie Wonder – Where I'm Coming From

Does anybody know about a 1971 US Motown 5247ML showing "Where I'm coming from"... Stevie Wonder - all in one line? Not two lines as the other similar looking pressings.

Ok, here's the story behind this one....."Stevie Wonder" was at least 21 (no longer "Little Stevie"), and he was tired of being cute and loveable and ready to tear it up!!!!! His contract was up and "Motown" knew that it would be hard to resign him.....So what do you do? Let him do what he wants, and that's exactly what "Stevie" did on "Where I'm Coming From"..... Every joint is a winner, and it really showed "Where he was Coming From"....The album starts with the 1st Crown Jewel, the powerful statement of "Look Around"...All you have here is "Stevie" behind a Harpsicord, giving one of his most inspired performances, with some very serious lyrics!!!!! The 2nd Crown is the Driving Funk of "Do Yourself A Favor"...You can tell that "Stevie" was ready to do a song like this for a while...In fact, it almost has a little comparison to "Funkadelic's, "I Bet You"...The next Crown Jewel, the sweet Hit in "If You Really Love Me" shows what direction "Stevie" was trying to achieve...It even has terrific vocal assistance from "Syreeta Wright" (who he was married to at the time)..."I Wanna Talk To You" (the 4th Crown Jewel), is one of the most kooky sounding songs "Stevie" ever performed, but the message is very serious on the state of Race Relations....The 5th Crown Jewel, "Take Up A Course In Happiness" may sound like it was performed at a State Fair, but the sound was very infectious....."Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer", the 6th Crown Jewel, is one of the most Beautiful Ballads "Stevie" ever produced!!!! It also set the pattern of "Stevie" singing only behind the Piano (even though this had Beautiful Orchestrations in the background)....The Ultimate, Ultimate, Ultimate Ultimate Crown Jewel, and the perfect closer in "Sunshine In Their Eyes", is a "Stevie" Extravaganza!!!!! It is a two part joint, that talks about how Children look at the world, then it breaks down about the realities of life...I can't prove it, but I believe that "Stevie" could have titled it ""Sunshine In Their Eyes (Everything Is Happening)"....The only songs that missed the Crown Jewel status was "Think Of Me As Your Soldier" and "Something Out Of The Blue", even though they don't diminish the album...I again struggled in starting the Album Revolution here for "Stevie"...Again, I just couldn't do it (I have my reasons, and I will reveal it later)...In the meantime, I hope this album is finally getting the recognition it deserves...After this one, "Stevie" never looked back (thank goodness!!!!!!!).......PS: I agree with you "brandosoul", this is very very overlooked!!!!!!!!!!

I have an uplayed cassette of this album and can't find in any of the record guides. Anyone know anything about it ??

Every great musician has that one transitional/departure record that precipitates a sea change in their musical repertoire and aspirations. Stevie Wonder's 1971 underrated classic, Where I'm Coming From fit that bill in more ways than one. Mixing his pop-soul signature with baroque pop, jazz, psychedelia, and funk, Where I'm Coming From was such a visionary record, one that marked a period of newfound independence and artistic depth that Stevie only hinted at with its preceding record, Signed, Sealed & Delivered, but brought to total fruition throughout. What made Where I'm Coming From so unique was its sheer diversity and experimental sensibilities, as he moved into mature and ambitious territory. Not to mention, he wrote and produced much of the record with his then-wife Syreeta Wright. Surprisingly enough, this neglected classic dropped a month before Marvin Gaye dropped his epochal landmark, What's Going On, with several overlooking Stevie's album as an important stepping stone not only in Stevie's classic canon, but in the Motown and soul canon time and time again.

compared to all of his other LOS this one has not had many CD issues at all.

Stevie rightly won plaudits, awards including Grammys for his subsequent iconic 70s albums. But this album is the start of that superbly creative period and is often overlooked against his other great works. But this album is superb. Always great to listen too Stevie sings of love and lost love and flexes his political muscles. As one of his songs suggests ‘Do yourself a favor’. Give it a listen.